Jiggers Diner article from my02818.com

Jigger's To Re-Open On Friday

﻿Jigger's, the popular Main Street diner that has been closed since August, will re-open on Friday, said owner Iva Reynhout after making a brief appearance at a Town Council meeting on Monday night.

"It's very good news," she said, in front of Town Hall, after leaving the Council meeting. "I'm sure I'll have some happy customers."

On Monday night, as she spoke to a gaggle of reporters in front of Town Hall after the Council approved her application for a new food service license, a long-time customer walked by and asked what was happening with her breakfast restaurant. When she told him she planned to open on Friday, the man smiled and said, "Fantastic."

Reynhout plans to open Jigger's on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 6am to 1pm for the foreseeable future, she said. "I need to be able to keep costs down," she said. "Hopefully we'll be open more, but this is it for now."

Jigger's was closed by the state Department of Revenue in August for not paying sales taxes. Reynhout said she was able to make a payment to the state and work out a payment plan to for the remainder of the outstanding money owed.

A local institution that was almost always crowded for breakfast, Jigger's is also well-known around the state and region. The Food Network recently called it the best breakfast in Rhode Island. The antique 1947 Worcester Lunch Car, has been there since the 1950's, and there has been a diner in that location at 145 Main St. since 1917. ﻿

Reynhout said the downtown diner is still for sale. In August, her real estate agent Marilyn Keisel said the restaurant was for sale for $379,750.﻿

I nominate Buffetbuster to be my silent partner 1% me99% BuffetbusterThe good thing is if I ever decided to buy Buffetbuster out I can pay him back with PIE. Oh and ths would be the perfect excuse for you and Mariton to return to RI !

Main Street seemed whole again Friday morning. That's because Jiggers, the popular downtown diner, was open for breakfast once again after being closed since late August for not paying its state sales taxes.

"I was lost," said Tom Harris, who lives in downtown East Greenwich and said he used to eat breakfast at Jigger's almost every morning.

At 7am on Friday, he was found, as he enjoyed his favorite meal once at again at the East Greenwich institution that has been hosting people for breakfast since 1917. The 1947 36-seat Worcester Lunchcar that currently occupies the spot has been there since the 1950's.

"It's just a great place," Harris said. "I love the atmosphere."

On the other side of the bar, owner Iva Reynhout was just as pleased to see Harris, as he was to see her.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to see these faces again," she said. "Relieved. That's the word."

Reynhout's restaurant was shut down in August by the state Department of Revenue for not paying sales taxes collected from customers. In December, she agreed to a payment plan with the state, and earlier this week re-applied for her food service license with the town.

Since getting the go-ahead from the Town Council on Monday, Reynhout and her mix of new and old new staff have been busy preparing the place for its re-opening.

"We've been working on it agressively since Monday," she said. "We did a tremendous amount of work this week. It was like starting from scratch, getting the place running. The utilities were shut off, we had to get them back on again."

By Friday morning, after Reynhout and her staff had been putting on the finishing touches until about 1 am, it seemed — once again — as if Jigger's had just always been there.

"I've been coming here for years," said Wayne Joubert, who sat at a table with a long-time breakfast companion. "Obviously I didn't starve to death, but breakfast just wasn't the same."

Reynhout said Jigger's will be open three days a week — Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays — from 6am to 1pm. She said she hopes to be able to be open seven days a week in the near future.